I guess it all comes down to personal ethics and where you apply your activism. For myself in the cupcake scenario I would still be buying the cupcakes at the vegan place, or making them myself, because I've given up much more then cupcakes (or boots) for my veganism and activism.... So I just didn't understand why I've never seen any real positivity towards the boots on the board, but I guess I have my answer now: nostalgia and fashion.

I own a pair of VS boots that tear my achilles up if I do any sort of substantial walking and insoles didn't help for me. Though I didn't replace them with Docs, I did end up with a vegan product from a non-vegan company because they were the best candidate for the job of helping me not spend my nights hobbling around with frozen peas strapped to my feet. I totally understand where you're coming from and I know we're mostly referring to the Docs/VS situation, but it seems like you're implying that if someone buys from a non-veg company instead of a veg company they're throwing some ethics to the wind/just being frivolous and I don't really think that's fair.That being said, it's late and I'm probably misreading things.

So I just didn't understand why I've never seen any real positivity towards the boots on the board, but I guess I have my answer now: nostalgia and fashion.

That's being a bit flippant, my comment about the tags was only half serious- I just don't find the VS boots to be of as good quality. I have given VS my business over the years and I still have other shoes from them that I wear and like, but they don't make boots as good as the DMs (in my opinion.)

_________________"If I were M. de la Viandeviande, I would now write a thirteen page post about how you have to have free will to be vegan, but modern science does not suggest any evidence for free will, therefore it is impossible to be vegan." -mumbles

Shoes are really important-- you wear them all day, you walk in them, you sit in them. The difference between a really good shoe and a mostly-good shoe is massively wide. I've had enough foot and ankle issues (high arches, really narrow feet so normal shoes seldom fit correctly, a sprained ankle a couple of years ago that gives me trouble when I wear shoes without enough ankle support) that while I really really want to wear only vegan shoes or boots, and I want to support ethical companies in general (Nike bought Converse; I did stop buying Chucks at that point), if I can't find anything comfortable that fits those parameters, I'll buy something that fits and doesn't hurt my feet.

It's not a matter of giving up fashion or whatever-- it's a matter of not having my feet hurt constantly.

This comes into play when I can't try on the shoes first-- I've had bad experiences mail-ordering shoes and having to return them. At this point I mostly don't mail-order shoes unless I've tried on the brand locally and know enough to say "Macbeth size 11 fits me properly" or whatever.

So, yeah-- it sucks that there aren't lots of vegan shoe options, but if I have to buy a vegan shoe from a non-vegan company, or buy a mostly-vegan shoe with a bit of leather on it (for whatever dang reason) in order to have a shoe that actually fits, I'll do it.

tl;dr summary: I can cook vegan food to my taste, but I can't make my own shoes, so sometimes I have to compromise.

I own a pair of VS boots that tear my achilles up if I do any sort of substantial walking and insoles didn't help for me. Though I didn't replace them with Docs, I did end up with a vegan product from a non-vegan company because they were the best candidate for the job of helping me not spend my nights hobbling around with frozen peas strapped to my feet. I totally understand where you're coming from and I know we're mostly referring to the Docs/VS situation, but it seems like you're implying that if someone buys from a non-veg company instead of a veg company they're throwing some ethics to the wind/just being frivolous and I don't really think that's fair.That being said, it's late and I'm probably misreading things.

I do get the matter of comfort, and I'm all for simply having shoes that don't hurt, and I say go for whatever shoes you need to have those things. As for throwing ethics to the wind, I believe people have different ethics and feel passionately about different things, I'm all gung-ho about supporting vegan businesses and like Quarantined said that isn't her first priority, which is fine because in the end we are all fighting the same fight for the same thing, and I'm sure there is some part of vegan activist spectrum that she is more passionate about then me.

_________________"I'm in your vagina, lurkin on your garlics!" - paprikapapaya"My vagina won't even come to the table because she's out fighting crime under the name The Pink Boom." - idatetattooedguys

I do get the matter of comfort, and I'm all for simply having shoes that don't hurt, and I say go for whatever shoes you need to have those things. As for throwing ethics to the wind, I believe people have different ethics and feel passionately about different things, I'm all gung-ho about supporting vegan businesses and like Quarantined said that isn't her first priority, which is fine because in the end we are all fighting the same fight for the same thing, and I'm sure there is some part of vegan activist spectrum that she is more passionate about then me.

As I said, I get what you're saying. The thing I (and maybe others) take issue with is that some of your replies seem to imply some sort of elitism, but I also know that's probably not your intention. I just think there's a better way to present the argument.

As I said, I get what you're saying. The thing I (and maybe others) take issue with is that some of your replies seem to imply some sort of elitism, but I also know that's probably not your intention. I just think there's a better way to present the argument.

I can't control how you read or interpret my posts, especially on the internet, but just know I don't think of myself as an 'elite' vegan or anything and that I'm not judging anyone here. I was just discussing my views on Doc Martens starting production on vegan boots again, and why I'm not excited about it.

_________________"I'm in your vagina, lurkin on your garlics!" - paprikapapaya"My vagina won't even come to the table because she's out fighting crime under the name The Pink Boom." - idatetattooedguys

You also seem to imply that all vegans are (or want to be) activists, and that's simply not true.

_________________No. No. fork life allatimes. - mumblesThat commercial didn't make me want to go out and buy Dove, but this thread did make me sniff my armpits. They smell like apricot. - designedtobekind

Now that I think about my old vegan docs, the vegan 'leather' is pretty much the only part that has held up. One of the soles is ripped in two, they're all mangled inside, i've lost the tags and bits of stitching. But they were one of the first things I changed when I went vegan and I look forward to getting new ones, they really were good shoes.

I tried these on recently at the DM store while in Portland, they were cozy and looked well constructed but it was disappointing to glance around the store at all the cute styles and colors and then having exactly two boring vegan options. The Cherry Red is not really red but an awful, cheap looking brownish color. I am still deciding on whether or not to get a pair in the black.

_________________I think my heart just exploded into a shower of glitter --TinLychee

I bought them a couple weeks ago, and they're just as awesome and comfortable as the non-vegan pair I had in high school. They seem to break in nice and quickly too.

keen_on_quinoa wrote:

I've got wide feet, will they be comfy for me?

My feet are probably on the wider side of average for a female, and I have to wear thick socks and lace mine tightly, so I'd say as long as your feet aren't like freakishly wide, you'd probably be good.

Hi Creep! Still happy with them? I had a look at a pair yesterday but didnt want to lug them around so will go and buy them today. They are supposed to be real comfy, just as the regular ones, but this was of course the salesgirl that said it.

i wish the same. i've always liked their boots, but since i have two other pairs of black boots i'd really rather have mary janes. since they've released the new vegan ones i've been wondering if they'll release new styles or colors. so i emailed them and this is the message i got back:

"Thanks for the inquiry. There will be a new Vegan mary jane style this spring, but we don't have plans to offer other colors or styles yet. They are new this fall."

emmaa, I got the same ones! Though I didnt fancy the colour at the beginning (they were out of the black ones). Only when the shop assistant put some black, thicker shoelaces in they had the Dr Martens feel. I am wearing them today and I really like them.

I bought a pair a while back, they are so comfortable. I remember having leather docs when I was younger that took forever (and many blisters) to wear in but these haven't given me one blister. I luff them so much.

I got them from the Covent Garden Doc Martens shop, the shop assistant said that lots of non-veg people had been buying them because the material is nice and the soles are a lower profile than standard docs, she was saying they have to say to people "these are NOT leather, you can't return them because they're NOT leather!" but people have been buying them anyway. She said they were selling much better than expected and that they might be expanding the range because of this.